The present invention relates to turntables and in particular to a robotic turntable for presenting various aspects of an object for scanning.
Various small objects are used as models for molding shaped articles. For example, ear canal moldings are made to manufacture in-the-ear hearing aids, and tooth molds are made for manufacturing crowns. Modern equipment enables scanning of moldings to generate numerical models of the shapes of moldings, and the numerical models may be used to control equipment which manufactures the final product. Known equipment for scanning moldings is expensive, and the costs are prohibitive for placement of scanning machines at dental or medical offices. As a result, moldings are mailed, resulting in mailing costs and delays in providing a product.
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/059,751, filed Feb. 16, 2005, discloses a robotic turntable which addresses the functional needs described above, but is not designed to bear heavy loads. A need thus remains for a load bearing robotic turntable. The '751 application is incorporated herein by reference.